expound the meaning of certain ceremonials. When Mendel
ascended the pulpit, the stricken congregation, with hushed and eager
expectation, awaited his words.

Mendel began by alluding to the sad demise of the beloved Rabbi. He
spoke of his great heart, of his benevolence and wisdom, and as his
powerful and sympathetic voice rang through the vast synagogue, few were
the eyes that were not suffused with tears.

"Friends," he continued, "in an epidemic such as is at present raging in
our midst, our thoughts are naturally directed to _Adonai_, and we
implore His mercy. If such a misfortune tends to turn our prayers
heavenward, to arouse our humanity towards our suffering fellow-men,
then indeed the evil may become a blessing in disguise. But if you lay
the blame of your misfortunes to God alone, and believe that He inflicts
His creatures with disease because He is angry with the world, you
degrade the Lord into an angry, revengeful Being of human type, instead
of the grand and supreme _Adonai Echod_ whom our forefathers worshipped.

"The many absurd observances of which you have been guilty, and which
culminated in the marriage at the cemetery, are blasphemous. I will tell
you why. If God has really sent this trouble, it is done for a wise
purpose, and God will know when to remove the infliction without such
barbaric ceremonies to propitiate Him. If, on the other hand, your own
negligence of the laws of health is to blame, then absurd rites, even
though sanctioned by a wonder-working Rabbi of some distant city, are of
no avail; but the only effective way to terminate the trouble is to
investigate our way of living, and to correct whatever we find
prejudicial to our well-being."

That this new and hitherto unheard-of doctrine should cause a profound
sensation was but natural. A murmur through the audience showed plainly
that sentiment was divided upon the subject. Mendel, disregarding the
interruption, continued. In clear and concise terms he pointed out the
historical fact that throughout all the epidemics of the past, Israel,
by the perfection of her sanitary laws, enjoyed almost an immunity from
disease. He hurriedly enumerated the many excellent Mosaic laws
concerning diet and cleanliness, and endeavored to show that the ablest
physicians of modern times could not improve upon these commands. Then
he spoke of the recent discoveries by the German doctors, and the
promulgation of the new theory that contagious diseases